... paper sculpture ...

When hired to develop costume designs for a jewelry editorial for L’Officiel magazine, artists Alexandra Zaharova & Ilya Plotnikov delivered an idea more enthralling than the jewelry it was intended to promote. Their Paper Sculpture designs framed the model in pure, geometric white fashions with a bold black tie front-and-center. After a glance at all nine of the images, focusing on the jewelry is certainly the hard part. Working with the firm forms of paper is not new to the team of Zaharova and Plotnikov, as their portfolio is rich with paper-styled designs. This series, the duo’s latest and greatest, is a stand out work that most every designer can take inspiration from [zaharova x plotnikov on behance]

..... BMW S.X .....

The BMW S.X concept is the work of designer Iulian Bumbu, who had earlier created the Lamborghini Insecta concept. The concept delves into what a future sports luxury coupe from BMW might look like, and is positioned as a successor to the BMW 6-series. The design exercise continues with BMW’s “flame-surfacing styling language” and maintains a sense of uniformity and continuity throughout the exterior.

The design has high-mount brake lights incorporated into the edges of the rear window, and lateral vents are placed just behind the front wheels. The design strikes a balance; it is neither a radical departure from the BMW design language, nor does it blindly follow the same.

... Chanel new century ....

Last week in Paris, Karl Lagerfeld presented a poised, elegant and mostly black take on power suiting for Chanel that included this fantastically witty take on the working gal's briefcase. We hope that it's not just a prop for the catwalk.

I´m sure someone out there could pull it off in the real world. It's highly functional, after all.

quote of the day

" Your task is not to foresee the future, but to enable it."

in The Wisdom of the Sands (1948) Antoine de Saint Exupéry

.... Lubetkin Prize ....

Herzog and de Meuron’s ‘bird’s nest’ National Stadium in Beijing has been named the best building outside Europe by the RIBA

The centrepiece of the 2008 Olympic Games won the institute’s prestigious Lubetkin Prize – the award, supported by The Architectural Review, given to the ‘most outstanding work of architecture’ outside the European Union by an RIBA member.

The full list of 15 RIBA International Award winners, from which the Lubetkin Prize shortlist has been selected, is:

1. Beijing Capital International Airport Terminal 3 by Foster and Partners with NACO, the Beijing Institute of Architectural Design and Arup.

2. Beijing Station by Farrells with Third Railway Survey and Design Institute Group Corporation for TSDI

3. Maosi Ecological Demonstration Primary School,Quingyang City, China, by the Department of Architecture, the Chinese University of Hong

4. The National Stadium, Beijing, by Herzog and de Mueron with the China Architectural Design and research Group, Arup Sport and Ove Arup and Partners Hong Kong

5. Ninetree Village in Zhejiang, China, by David Chipperfield Architects with Zhejiang South Architectural Services Design

6. Watercube, National Swimming Centre, Beijing by PTW Architects, Sydney with the China State Construction & Engineering Corporation, China State Construction Design International and Arup

7. Saxo Bank, Copenhagenby 3XN for Carlsberg A/S Ejendomme

8. Museum Brandhorst, Munich by sauerbruch hutton

9. Alto Vetro Residential Tower, Dublin by Shay Cleary Architects

10. Sean O’Casey Community Centre, Dublin by O’Donnell and Tuomey

11. European Investment Bank in Luxembourg City by Ingenhoven Architects

12. The British High Commission, Colombo, Sri Lanka, by Richard Murphy Architects withMilroy Perera

13. Cocoon - Exclusive Office Headquarters, Zurich, by Camenzind Evolution

14. Ching Fu Shipbuilding, Kaohsiung, Taiwan by Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners, with HOYA Architects

15. Northern Arizona University, Advanced Research and Development Facility, Flagstaff, Arizona by Hopkins Architects with Burns-Wald Hopkins Architects

.... when art meets architecture , film and fashion .....

www.prada - transformer.com

Rem Koolhaas’ latest project -The Prada Transformer- is not just a building, but also a statement on today´s state of architecture. Dubbed the anti-blob, this “object” rejects all common blobby shapes we have seen lately. Simple geometrical shapes (a circle, a cross, a rectangle and an hexagon) enclose a space that depending on its rotation results on different spaces suitable for fashion exhibitions, cinema, art exhibitions and other special events. Each face is the platform on which these activities take place, while also being served by the other faces enclosing the space.

.... and that is .....

Architecture from MAYAnMAYA on Vimeo.

..... the Spiral Tower by Zaha Hadid in Barcelona ....

Zaha Hadid’s design for the Edifci Campus confrms the role of the 22@ area at the very forefront of Barcelona’s changing water edge. The tower’s striking design creates a new presence in a territory of transition. The spiralling tower stitches the border of the municipalities of Barcelona and Besòs, creating a new infrastructure that is a joint venture of the two cities and two clients: El Consorci, Zona Franca de Barcelona y b-TEC, Consorci del Campus Interuniversitari del Besòs.

The design articulates the transition between the forum and the campus, between the new equipments and parks water-front area, in Barcelona, and the requalifcation of the delta of the river Besòs area, in Sant Adriá del Besòs. The formal theme of the spiral actively binds the two together with an encompassing movement, stimulating the seamless integration of the city fabric, connecting in a dynamic way, the different surrounding areas.

... chanel on the road .......

.... go green ...

.... a sweet museum ....

Nestlé Chocolate Museum

While Nestlé’s chocolate Factory in Mexico City (located in Paseo Tollocan near Toluca) was in need of an inner pathway for visitors to witness the production of their favorite chocolates, a group of experts put together by rojkind arquitectos and Traqs suggested bigger plans for the company.

... Yachting with Sir Norman Foster ............

If money was no object, the YacthPlus by Foster + Partners would be the ultimate sea-faring signature.

The YachtPlus line of boats will include the Ocean Sapphire and the Ocean Emerald. We’re glad to see that these ships are not just glossy renderings, but real builds that are roaming the seas right now. While they’re not yet in full production, these real, working prototypes are solid signals that YachtPlus will soon be owning the seas. For now, pricing and release details remain unknown…

... Zaha Hadid’s new music hall in Manchester ....

The hall is created by a ribbon which creates an interior space that wraps around the audience plus performers. An internal steel frame is suspended from the ceiling and covered with a translucent fabric stretched tightly over the exterior but allowed to billow on the inside. Clear acrylic acoustic panels are suspended above the stage to reflect and disperse the sound, while remaining visually imperceptible within the fabric membrane.

The installation is designed to be transportable and re-installed in other similar venues.

‘The design enhances the multiplicity of Bach’s work through a coherent integration of formal and structural logic. A single continuous ribbon of fabric swirls around itself, creating layered spaces to cocoon the performers and audience with in an intimate fluid space.’ said Hadid.

.... a glass box @ Sears Tower .........

Would you trust a glass floor that’s an inch and a half thick when suspended 103 stories in the air? People in Chicago today can find out at the Sears Tower, which opened its new set of glass balconies for public viewing. “The Ledge,” as they’re collectively called, hangs 1,353 feet in the air. With transparent walls and ceilings, visitors say its like floating in the sky, and the view is, of course, spectacular. Don’t worry, those glass floor can withstand five tons, but just to be safe, jumping up and down is probably not a good idea.

... 29GPS Architecture .....

A very good app if you are traveling around and want to discover new architecture around. And the best of all, is that you can download this app for free (it contain some ads, see screenshoots ). There are two different versions of the app depending which measure system do you use, with the distance in either kilometers (download with iTunes, free) or miles (download with iTunes, free).